The Wilmingtonian., 1887-12-10

burning various substances in the room
others think 1t best to expose some volatile
substance in the room and allow it tc
evaporate, and so on.
They all claim that their favorite plan
will kill the disease germs, etc., that are in
the air. But it is falacy. If used in suf.
fciently dilute form to be without injury to
the human beings of the room, they will also
fail to destroy the other creatures. Then il
they did what would it avail usP If we could
destroy all the poisonous substances the air
might be pure in that sense, yet be devoid of
the needed amount of oxygen. There is no
means of obtaining This except from without.
1t may often be wise to use some substance
to.conceal bad odors when their presence is
unavoidable. but we must always remember
that the object of this is onlylto conceal this
evidence OF the unwholesome presence, and
that it does not destroy anything. 1t will
not remove the poisonous elements, and it
cannot replace The Oxygen that is constantly
consumed by the patient and the nurse.
When member of the family is taken
sick and is to be cared for in the house, the
first thing to see to is the room in which he
is to live while the disease lasts. In order
that he may have the best chances of fav-
orable termination of his sickness number
of things must be considered in deciding the
question. The aim should be TO choose the
room which offers the greatest number of
the requirements of model sick room.
This room should be a large and cheerful
one on sunny side of the house. 1t should
be in quiet part of the house, away from
the street aud also from that part occupied
by the rest af the family, so as to exclude all
noise, and smells of cooking, etc. A second
or third story is best. 1t should have high
ceiling, and at least two large windows
These should be on opposite sides of the
room, or, at least, on two sides. They
should have window boards or some coutriv-
auce to cause the incoming air to be reflect
ed upward, and thus have an opportunity to
get warmed before it reaches the patient.
1t must be remembered that warm air is not,
of necessity, impure anymore than cold air
ia oil f,tira IN oh mt ~
pure air is the object of ventilation.
If the windows of sufficient size, or in
proper places, can not be had. the same re-
suit can often be obtained by using an ad-
joining room with windows and communi-
eating door. If the weather is warm this
door may be kept open. In cold weather it
can be closed while the windows are opened
to fill the room with pure, cold air, then the
windows should be closed, and after the
roomful of fresh air has been warmed tho
door can be opened to let it in. This plan
sary.
1t is sometimes an advantage to cover the
patient thoroughly with heavy quilts and
then throw open all the windows and doors
aud allow the air to pass freely through the
room. This can be safely done, even in cold
weather, provided care is taken not to un-
cover the patient until the room has jbeen
warmed sufficiently.
In this connection will state that people
with febrile diseases do not take cold easily
while they-have fever, hence it is not neces-
sary to bundle them up so that they are un-
comfortable at such times. But it must be
remembered that they do very readily take
cold while convalescing from such diseases.
Care is especially needed after case of
pneumonia. as relapses are due to a too early
exposure in many cases where they occur.
the room has been changed once ur twice in
day that it has beeu sufficiently renewed.
Prof. Edward Curtis, of New York, says:
"There should be three thousand cubic feet
of outside air let in each hour for each pair of
lungs" That means six, or more, thousand
cubic feet Of air for one patient and the nurse,
and it must be renewed each hour. l find
that a room eighteen feet long, eighteen feet
wide, and eighteen feet high, contains lit
tie less than six thousand feet (5,S32). As
most rooms are much smaller than this the
deficiency must be made by renewing the air
more frequently.
The best way to get foul air out of a room
is by the way of the chimney. The contain
mated air is heavy, therefore it is next to
the floor, The opening for its escape must,
consequently, be low in the room. To cause
this heavy air to go out with its load of i'm
purities, it must be heated. The best ar
rangement for this is CRATE fire. It gives
the needed ventilation, it also warns the
room by radiation and it is cheerful.
If there is no crate there should bs an
opening low in the wall, either commuDlca-
ting with the chimney OF with an air fue
that is near enough to to the chimney to be
warmed by it. 1t is not sufficient to have an
opening and flue, it must be warmed SO at
to cause an upward current of air to pass
out, and thus draW the impure air out Of the
room.